American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) Holdings Raised by Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd

Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd boosted its stake in American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NASDAQ:AEP) by 7.0% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 31,705 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,068 shares during the quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd’s holdings in American Electric Power were worth $2,675,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Electric Power during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ acquired a new position in shares of American Electric Power during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Electric Power during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Electric Power during the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of American Electric Power during the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.24% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Guggenheim upgraded shares of American Electric Power from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of American Electric Power from $100.00 to $99.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $108.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Scotiabank lowered shares of American Electric Power from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $105.00 to $102.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of American Electric Power from $109.00 to $104.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $99.23.

American Electric Power Stock Performance

NASDAQ AEP opened at $105.84 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 0.44 and a quick ratio of 0.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $56.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.50. The company’s fifty day moving average is $101.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $99.00. American Electric Power Company, Inc. has a 52-week low of $79.16 and a 52-week high of $109.52.

American Electric Power (NASDAQ:AEP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $1.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.24. American Electric Power had a net margin of 15.08% and a return on equity of 11.27%. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.23 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that American Electric Power Company, Inc. will post 5.87 EPS for the current year.

American Electric Power Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th were given a $0.93 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 10th. This represents a $3.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.51%. American Electric Power’s dividend payout ratio is 66.43%.

American Electric Power Profile

American Electric Power Company, Inc, an electric public utility holding company, engages in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity for sale to retail and wholesale customers in the United States. It operates through Vertically Integrated Utilities, Transmission and Distribution Utilities, AEP Transmission Holdco, and Generation & Marketing segments.